About Harvest

The foundation that Harvest began building on over 35 years ago is the same foundation it stands on today, and that's the commitment to knowing God and making Him known.

Harvest's beginnings were humble. There was no great strategy behind the church plant. Harvest's pastor, Greg Laurie, was a part of the Jesus People movement in the late 1960's and was sent out, by his home church, to lead a Bible study in Riverside when he was 19 years old. This Bible study soon outgrew the facility it was meeting in and became a church when it moved to its current location on Arlington Avenue.

Today, God continues to work through Harvest Christian Fellowship. "Looking back," says Pastor Greg, "I can see God's hand at work from the very beginning. It has always been a part of God's plan for us to know Him and make Him known. I encourage you to do the same."

About Pastor Greg

Greg Laurie is the senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California and Harvest Orange County in Irvine, California. He began his pastoral ministry at the age of 19 by leading a Bible study of 30 people.

Since then, God has transformed that small group into a church of some 15,000 people. Today, Harvest is one of the largest churches in America, and consistently ranks among the most influential churches in the country.

In 1990, Laurie began holding large-scale public evangelistic events called Harvest Crusades. Since that time, more than 5,242,000 people have attended Harvest Crusades events around the United States, ranging from the annual event at Angel Stadium in Anaheim to Madison Square Garden in New York City. In 2012, Laurie launched Harvest America, a nationwide event using the internet to simulcast live HD video to thousands of locations across the country. With an unprecedented 306,000 Americans in live attendance, Harvest America ranks among the largest presentations of the gospel in U.S. history. Harvest Crusades have also been held internationally in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. More importantly, more than 439,900 people have made professions of faith through these outreaches.

Laurie is the featured speaker of the nationally-syndicated radio program, A New Beginning, which is broadcast on more than 700 radio outlets around the world. A New Beginning is also one of the most popular Christian podcast downloads on Apple's iTunes Store.

Laurie has a weekly television program on the Trinity Broadcasting Network, and he has appeared on many other television news programs. Along with his work at Harvest Ministries, Laurie served as the 2013 Honorary Chairman of the National Day of Prayer, and also serves on the board of directors of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. He holds honorary doctorates from Biola University and Azusa Pacific University.

In addition to speaking and assisting other ministries, Laurie has authored over 70 books including Signs of the Times, As I See It, Hope for Hurting Hearts, Married. Happily., Essentials, What Every Christian Needs to Know, Upside Down Living, The Greatest Stories Ever Told, and many more.

His autobiography, Lost Boy, was released in June 2008 by Regal Books and continues to be one of the bestselling Christian biographies of all time. The accompanying documentary film, Lost Boy: The Next Chapter, has won eight awards at International film festivals in the best documentary category. He just completed a new film, Hope for Hurting Hearts, that features his story of coming through tragedy.

Laurie has written study notes for the bestselling The New Believer's Bible and The Seeker's Bible. He also wrote the notes for the Start! Bible in the New King James Version and has recently completed a new Bible project for Thomas Nelson called Refresh, which is a devotional Bible.

Greg has been married to Cathe Laurie for 41 years and he has two sons, Christopher and Jonathan. Christopher went to be with the Lord in 2008. Greg and Cathe also have five grandchildren.

Knowing God And Making Him Known

At Harvest, our mission is to "know God and to make Him known." To that end, we place emphasis on the study of God's Word and the proclamation of the gospel message—that Jesus Christ died to save us from our sins and He offers us the free gift of eternal life.

Our culture would have you believe that God doesn't exist, or that God is a mysterious and far-away being, that God is a nebulous aura or aenergy force, or that we are our own gods. But we know from His Word that God is real and that He desires a meaningful relationship with each of us. He wants to communicate with you and wants you to communicate with Him.

If you would like to start a relationship with God, we can help you. Visit KnowGod.org for more information.

The Harvest Community

Many people today understand the church as a building. This is not a biblical understanding of the church. The word church comes from the Greek word ekklesia which is defined as "an assembly" or "called-out ones." The church is not a building or a denomination. According to the Bible, the church is the body of Christ—all those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation.

The Bible defines church as a body. Each of us are members of that body with different functions and abilities. When one part of the body suffers, it is felt throughout. When one part of the body is not functioning, the rest of the body is impaired. Each part of the body is necessary and each part is significant.

Our Statement of Faith

A Statement of Faith is a written declaration of the church's position on matters that pertain to the essentials of historical Christianity.

We believe the Bible to be the inspired and only infallible, authoritative Word of God. Therefore, our ministry emphasizes the exposition of God's Word from Genesis to Revelation, line upon line, precept upon precept.

We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

We believe in the deity of Christ, in His Virgin Birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of God, and in His personal return in power and glory.

We believe that for the salvation of lost and sinful humanity, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is essential, and that repentance from sin and acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is the only way to come into a relationship with God.

We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit, by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life; we further believe His power and gifts are available to believers today.

We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost: they that are saved unto the resurrection of life, and they that are lost unto the resurrection of damnation.

We believe it is important to uphold the scriptural practices of the early church. Therefore, we hold to the practice of water baptism and the regular taking of Communion. We do not believe that either of these practices is essential for salvation, but that they serve as a demonstration of our living faith in Christ.